December 30, 2006

Estonia in in top pension rankings

* Two countries that joined the EU only in May, 2004 - Estonia and Latvia - rank among the region's top four for pensions provision, according to the latest annual European Pensions Barometer rankings from Aon Consulting, the pensions and benefits consultancy.

Both Baltic states relegated the Netherlands and the UK to fifth and sixth place respectively in the survey.

Denmark emerged as the best placed country among the 25 EU members to provide its citizens with adequate pensions.

Portugal, ranked top ranked last year, slipped to 13th place this time due to improvements in demography and private pension provision by other countries and the inclusion of new EU countries in the survey.

The British pension system ranks sixth out of 25, even though the UK has the least generous state pension system in the EU.